The invention relates to a pipeline Communication system for providing monitoring and/or control of pipeline based plant and equipment.
In patent documents WO-A-9326115 and FR-A-2097265 undersea pipeline systems cooperating with an offshore drilling platform are disclosed having a communications link.
The present invention is concerned with a land based system.
According to the invention there is provided a pipeline communication system for an electrically conductive pipeline insulated from the adjacent ground and including; transmitter means for sending information from a remote station using the pipeline and the adjacent ground as conductors; receiver means for receiving information at a remote station using the pipeline and the adjacent ground; and means employing recovery techniques to enhance the degraded received signals due to their passage along the pipeline and the adjacent ground.
Further according to the invention a communication method employing an electrically conductive pipeline insulated from the adjacent ground the method including transmitting information from a remote station by using the pipeline and the adjacent ground as conductors, employing recovery techniques to enhance the degraded received signals to recover the information therein.